Friday, January 26, 2007

Well, it's finally happened. After weeks of waiting for winter, it's here and it's cold. This may not be big news, I realise it happens every year, but the last few weeks of mild weather have been pure heaven to those of us who have to spend long periods on railway platforms in the early mornings and late evenings. The winter is the worst season for train-users; the unhappiness of standing waiting for a delayed train with shoulders hunched while the wind whistles across the station, your bones ache with cold and you wonder if you'll ever be warm again. Of course, the train does finally come, is usually mercifully warm, and allows shivering passengers to remove a few layers en route to work. However, this is when frozen noses begin to thaw, and the nightmare continues, in the form of sniffing, coughing and sneezing, creating god-knows-what kind of germ soup floating around in the cramped space of the carriage. Has anyone ever measured this air? I suspect it's positively deadly. Which is why I wonder why we don't see more face masks on trains. I'm a naturally healthy person, but since becoming a commuter, I pick up at least two or three heavy colds every winter. So, I was wondering, I know it looks a bit silly, but if we all do it, then it won't be so bad. Are you with me?

1 comment:

gezkc
said...

I was in Japan a few years ago, and face masks were a common sight among Tokyo commuters to protect against hay fever, flu etc.They have even taken to "livening up" these flu masks with animal faces, cutey cartoons and the like! Seems strange to us over here, but they must be doing something right - life expectancy in Japan is the highest in the world!! Perhaps they could catch on over here...